Oregon HOA Laws: Board Powers, Assessments, and Restrictions

Oregon HOA laws live primarily in two statutes: the Oregon Planned Community Act (ORS Chapter 94) for subdivisions with shared property, and the Oregon Condominium Act (ORS Chapter 100) for multi-unit buildings.¹² Together with federal protections that override any conflicting HOA rule, these laws control how your association collects money, holds meetings, keeps records, and enforces rules against you. They also set homeowner rights the board cannot take away, no matter what the CC&Rs say.

Which Law Governs Your Association

The property type decides the statute. If you own a lot in a subdivision that shares common property like private roads, a clubhouse, or landscaping, your HOA sits under ORS Chapter 94. If you own a unit inside a larger building or complex, your association is governed by ORS Chapter 100.² Both types operate under corporate governance standards. ORS 94.640 pulls in Oregon’s nonprofit corporation statutes for board conduct, whether or not the association has formally incorporated, which means directors owe the association fiduciary duties of care and loyalty.³

The HOA itself came into existence when the developer recorded a declaration with the county. That declaration, commonly called the CC&Rs, binds every lot to the association’s rules and travels with the land. Future buyers inherit the same obligations the original owners accepted.

How the Governing Documents Stack

Three layers of documents control life in the community, and knowing the hierarchy resolves most disputes before they start. The declaration sits at the top. Bylaws sit below it. Board-adopted rules and regulations sit at the bottom. When they conflict, the higher document wins, and a rule that contradicts the CC&Rs is unenforceable no matter how many board members voted for it.

The declaration is hardest to change. ORS 94.580 requires it to spell out property restrictions, common-area responsibilities, assessment obligations, and the amendment process itself. Amending it requires approval from owners representing at least 75 percent of the total votes in the community, or a higher percentage if the declaration itself demands one.¹

Bylaws cover internal operations like elections, meeting procedures, and board size. ORS 94.635 requires them to address these topics. A bylaw amendment typically needs a majority of votes present at a properly noticed meeting, unless the bylaws set a different bar.¹

Rules and regulations handle everyday matters: quiet hours, guest policies, architectural details. The board can usually adopt or amend them without a homeowner vote, provided they stay consistent with the declaration and bylaws.

What the Board Can Do, and What It Can’t

The board runs the association, but its power has limits. ORS 94.640 lets the board act on the association’s behalf except where the declaration or bylaws say otherwise.³ For condominiums, ORS 100.405 grants authority to manage the property, regulate common elements, and enforce the governing documents.²

Under ORS 94.630, the board’s specific powers include adopting rules, setting budgets, hiring managers and contractors, and initiating legal proceedings. The board must also review the association’s insurance at least once a year and file income tax returns annually.³

Consistency matters. A board that enforces architectural standards against one homeowner and lets identical violations slide next door invites legal challenges. Oregon courts expect associations to act within the four corners of their governing documents and to treat owners evenhandedly. When judges review HOA actions, they look at whether the board followed its own procedures and stayed within the authority granted by the declaration and state law.

Removing a Director

Homeowners are not stuck with a bad board. ORS 94.640 lets owners remove a director with or without cause by majority vote at a properly noticed meeting, unless the declaration or bylaws set a different standard.³ The director facing removal must be given a chance to speak before the vote. The removal has to appear as an agenda item in the meeting notice, and each director is voted on separately. If removal succeeds, owners fill the vacancy at the same meeting or a later one noticed for that purpose.

Assessments, Reserves, and Liens

Regular assessments fund operations and reserves. Under ORS 94.630, the board sets the budget and collects from owners for common expenses and reserve contributions.⁴ Special assessments may be levied when unexpected costs exceed the regular budget.

Oregon takes reserve funding seriously. ORS 94.595 requires every planned community association to establish a reserve account for major maintenance, repair, or replacement of common property items with a useful life of more than one year but less than 30 years.⁵ The board updates a reserve study to determine how much money the account needs. Underfunded reserves eventually produce large special assessments, so prospective buyers should ask to review the reserve study before closing.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

Ignoring assessment bills is one of the worst financial mistakes an Oregon homeowner can make. Under ORS 94.709, an unpaid assessment automatically creates a lien against your lot that includes interest, late charges, attorney fees, and costs allowed by the governing documents.⁶ The lien is senior to a homestead exemption and to every other lien except property tax liens and a first mortgage or trust deed of record.

The association can foreclose through proceedings similar to a construction lien foreclosure, and the lien remains enforceable for up to six years from the date the assessment was due.⁶ An HOA can force the sale of your home over unpaid dues, and the amounts do not have to be large for the process to start.

Meetings, Notice, and Records

ORS 94.650 requires the association to hold at least one meeting of all owners per calendar year. Meeting notices must include date, time, location, and agenda items. If the meeting involves a proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, a budget change, or a vote to remove a director, the notice must describe the general nature of that proposal.⁷ Board meetings must generally be open to owners, with narrow exceptions for confidential matters like pending litigation. ORS 94.655 sets quorum requirements for owner meetings, with the specific number typically defined in the bylaws.⁸ If the board skips required notice or ignores quorum rules, any actions taken risk being invalidated in court.

You also have broad rights to see what the HOA does with your money. ORS 94.670 requires the association to make its documents, financial information, and records reasonably available for examination by any owner who makes a good-faith request for a proper purpose, and to make records available for duplication on written request.⁹ Reachable records include budgets, financial statements, contracts, meeting minutes, and the governing documents themselves. Some records tied to pending litigation or attorney-client communications may be withheld, but the association cannot use those narrow exemptions as a blanket denial. An HOA that stonewalls a legitimate records request is violating state law.

What Your HOA Cannot Restrict

Certain homeowner protections override contrary CC&Rs, some under Oregon law and some under federal law. If the board tries to enforce a rule against you in these areas, point to the statute.

Solar Panels, EV Charging, and Pesticides

Oregon carves out specific homeowner interests the legislature decided outweigh an association’s desire for uniformity:

ORS 94.778 prevents HOAs from enforcing requirements that effectively prohibit solar energy systems. Architectural review is allowed, but restrictions cannot be so onerous that installation becomes impractical.⁴
ORS 94.762 addresses the association’s ability to regulate electric vehicle charging stations on individual lots.⁴
ORS 94.763 limits the association’s ability to apply pesticides on individual lots.⁴

Assistance Animals

Even if your HOA bans pets or restricts breeds, the federal Fair Housing Act requires reasonable accommodations for assistance animals, including emotional support animals. An assistance animal is not a pet under the law; it is an animal that works, provides assistance, or alleviates an effect of a person’s disability. The HOA must allow the animal unless it can show the accommodation would impose an undue financial burden, fundamentally alter operations, or that the specific animal poses a direct threat no other accommodation could resolve.¹⁰ The association cannot charge pet deposits or fees for an assistance animal. If the disability and the need for the animal are not obvious, the HOA may ask for reliable supporting information, but not extensive medical records or specific diagnoses.

Satellite Dishes and Antennas

The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule prevents HOAs from restricting installation of satellite dishes under one meter, TV antennas for local broadcast signals, and certain fixed wireless antennas used for internet, on property the homeowner owns or has exclusive use of. An HOA may prefer side or rear placement, but only if that placement does not prevent an acceptable signal or impose unreasonable expense or delay. Requiring permits or prior approval is generally prohibited, and charging installation fees is banned.¹¹ One boundary: OTARD does not cover true common areas like a condo building roof where no owner has exclusive-use rights. The HOA can restrict placement there.

The American Flag

The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 prohibits HOAs from adopting or enforcing any rule that prevents an owner from displaying the U.S. flag on property the owner has an exclusive-use right in.¹² Reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions are allowed to protect a substantial interest, and the flag must be displayed in accordance with federal flag code. What the HOA cannot do is ban the flag outright or impose restrictions that amount to a ban.

Handling a Dispute

Oregon law favors resolving HOA disputes outside of court. Mediation is the common first step. Some governing documents require arbitration before either side can file suit, so check your CC&Rs for a mandatory dispute resolution clause before hiring a litigator.

On enforcement, HOAs have tools beyond letters. The association can impose fines for rule violations if the governing documents authorize both the amount and the process. If you receive a fine, look for an internal appeals process in the bylaws. Fines disproportionate to the violation, or imposed without proper notice and a chance to respond, are vulnerable to legal challenge. A well-documented owner challenge grounded in the CC&Rs and ORS Chapter 94 carries real weight, and litigation is expensive enough for both sides that most disputes settle before a courtroom.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute – Planned Communities
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 100.405 – Association of Unit Owners; Powers; Granting of Interest in Common Elements; Dispute Resolution
3
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 94.640 – Association Board of Directors; Powers and Duties; Removal of Director
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 94.630 – Powers of Association
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 94.595 – Reserve Account for Maintaining, Repairing and Replacing Common Property; Reserve Study; Maintenance Plan
6
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 94.709 – Liens Against Lots; Priority; Duration; Record Notice of Claim of Unpaid Assessment; Foreclosure Procedure
7
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Laws 2021 Chapter 40
8
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 94.655 – Quorum for Association Meetings
9
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 94.670 – Association Duty to Keep Documents and Records; Deposit of Assessments; Payment of Association Expenses; Review of Financial Statement by Certified Public Accountant; Examination of Records by Owner
10
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Assistance Animals
11
Federal Communications Commission. Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 5 – Display and Use of Flag by Civilians; Codification of Rules and Customs; Definition